Top 25 Showdown Starts 136th Football Season Today

Sep 19, 2009

Pictured: Chris Pizzotti's late Qb sneak for a touchdown
completed a dramatic comeback for Harvard in its opener against
Holy Cross. The teams battle Saturday at 1 p.m. in
a Top 25 matchup in Worcester, Mass. Photo Courtesy of Dave
Silverman.
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The Particulars
Harvard opens its 136th season Saturday afternoon with a stern test
in a battle of Top 25 teams as the Crimson visits Holy Cross at
Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass.

The Crimson, nationally ranked in every preseason Top 25 poll,
will have its hands full against the vaunted offense of the
Crusaders and All-American quarterback Dominic Randolph. Holy Cross
will be playing its third game of the season while Harvard is in
its first and the Crusaders will be enjoying their third-straight
home game on the natural grass.

Opening Day
Harvard is an impressive 111-22-2 in season-openers (.829). The
Crimson has won its opening game in seven of the last eight years
and is 10-5 on Opening Day under current head coach Tim Murphy.

Series History
Saturday's game will be the 63rd meeting between Harvard and Holy
Cross in a series that dates to 1904. Harvard, which enjoyed 36
consecutive home games in the series from 1904 to 1980, holds a
38-22-2 series lead.

Harvard has won six of the last seven meetings and 10 of the
last 12 although it was Holy Cross that came away victorious in the
last meeting at Fitton Field, 31-28, thanks to a 40-yard touchdown
pass with just 19 seconds remaining.

Last Year's Meeting
Harvard stunned Holy Cross with a dramatic come-from-behind victory
last season in the first-ever Friday night football game at Harvard
Stadium.

Holy Cross led 24-12 with 9:28 to play, but Harvard scored on
drives of 60 and 66 yards, taking the lead on a Chris Pizzotti '09
plunge with 1:42 left.

In the fourth quarter, Pizzotti was 8-for-10 for 148 yards and
his 30 pass completions was good for second all-time for single
game completions. His 370 passing yards stands fourth in single
game yardage.

Harvard turned away two Holy Cross scoring bids when Collin Zych
intercepted a pass in the end zone in the third quarter and Eric
Schultz '09 forced a decisive fumble and recovery on a
first-and-goal from Harvard's one-yard line in the fourth.

Dominic Randolph was 27-of-52 for 239 yards with a touchdown
pass and a TD run as well as his costly interception and fumble.
Brett McDermott had six catches for 61 yards.

Marco Iannuzi led Harvard's receiving corps with 11 catches for
174 yards and a score while Chris Lorditch had nine receptions for
85 yards and Matt Luft had seven catches for 92 yards.

Holy Cross' Last Time Out
Dominic Randolph rushed for two touchdowns and threw two scoring
passes to lead the 25th-ranked Holy Cross football team to a 52-21
victory over Sacred Heart at Fitton Field. Randolph completed 20 of
38 passes for 274 yards without an interception, in addition to
rushing 11 times for 64 yards.

Holy Cross scored touchdowns on four out of its first five
possessions on the day, jumping out to a 28-0 lead by the middle of
the second quarter, and never looked back.

Conference Call
Harvard has won 15 of its last 18 non-league games dating back to
2003. Harvard completed its nonleague schedule undefeated (3-0) for
the fourth time in the last six seasons with wins over Holy Cross,
Lafayette and Lehigh.

Polling Place
After being nationally ranked in every preseason Top 25 poll,
Harvard has slipped into 25th place in both of this week's
national polls - The Sports Network and the FCS Coaches Poll. Holy
Cross is also in the mix for both polls with the Crusaders coming
in at 23rd in TSN and receiving votes in the FCS Coaches Poll.

Harvard Coach Tim Murphy
In his 16th season as Harvard's head coach, Tim Murphy enters
Saturday's game with a 97-52 record with the Crimson and a 129-97-1
overall head coaching record, which includes five years at
Cincinnati and two years at Maine. Murphy has led Harvard to five
Ivy League championships (1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008). He is 11-3
all-time against Holy Cross.

Holy Cross Coach Tom GilmoreTom Gilmore is in his sixth season at Holy Cross sideline,
and he enters the game against Harvard with a 32-25 record with the
Crusaders. Gilmore, who played at Penn as an undergraduate, was the
1985 Ivy League player of the year. He is 1-4 against Harvard as a
head coach.

Playing The Percentages
Since 2000, Harvard has posted the second-highest winning
percentage in the Football Championship Subdivision (.770) and
sixth highest in all of Division I .

Road Trip
Harvard is 32-10 in its last 42 road games since the start of the
2000 season. The Crimson is 24-7 in Ivy League road games during
that span.

Scouting The CrimsonHarvard is playing its first game of the 2009 season.

Scouting The CrusadersHoly Cross freshman tailback Eddie Houghton Was
named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, for his performance in
Saturday's 52-21 victory over Sacred Heart. This marks the second
straight time Houghton has been selected as the Patriot League
Rookie of the Week.

In the Sacred Heart game, Houghton led the team with 80 rushing
yards on 10 carries. He also scored his first collegiate touchdown
against the Pioneers, in addition to catching one pass for 14
yards. Houghton finished the game with new career highs of 80
rushing yards and 94 all-purpose yards. He has led the Crusaders in
rushing in both of their games so far this year.

Holy Cross is outscoring its opponents 36-14 through two games
and is averaging 344 passing yards per game.

Complete NotesFor the complete game notes, click on the PDF Document at
the top and bottom of this page.